Memo items:
1. Your SLG and PPG this year. This year our focus is on the structural elements of the daily lesson:
As we (the Chairs) put into our schedule for PD, we will focus on objectives during the 9/18/19 early release. I also will put out data for that day, which will include P/F data and MCAS ELA data. We will discuss where data fits in for your SLG/PPG creation. We are having problems with our data sources, but we hope to have it to you by Tuesday the 17th.
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2. Management Plans. Your classroom management plan should be ready and distributed. If it is not already, please make sure you do this before the end of the week. Departmental grading guides by PLC are on the departmental website here. You should include the appropriate grading guide in your management plan. These are the same for each PLC / course across all of the sections.
In terms of course descriptions, please have students check our website with this address:
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3. Important notes on grading.
4. Thematic Units. This year we will work on a shift away from pure chronology to thematic units in both our World and US History classes, as I have already indicated in PLC meetings. I am providing here an exemplar. This is not the only way to construct a thematic unit. This is based in primary document analysis, but its take on what primary documents are is limited. Nonetheless, it gives you a sense of how a thematic unit could be constructed. The sample is taken from Rosalie Metro’s Teaching U.S. History Thematically: Document-Based Lessons for the Secondary Classroom (2017). I have a personal copy up in my office. If you would like to borrow it, let me know. For the sample unit click here.
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5. CONSTITUTION DAY (Sept. 17, 2019) – esp. civics classes. This year we will focus on the the Tinker case (1969; this is its 50th anniversary). Kara made available her materials at the last PLC/CPT so that these could be used in civics classes. For other US History classes, you can use this or other work sometime the week of Sept. 16. If you are interested in Kara’s Tinker materials, please contact her directly.
I will make an announcement to the school on the 17th to mark the day.
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5. What is “Turnaround”?
This summary is being provided to each department for discussion at next week's dept. meeting during early release.
Lowell High School is embarking on a three-year strategic plan of targeted school improvement.
The plan is the result of our school’s need to improve the performance of two subgroups: (1) Students with Disabilities – this includes students with IEPs and 504 plans; and, (2) Asian students. These students are in every classroom. As well, all students will benefit from this plan.
The Turnaround Plan is an opportunity for LHS to respond to our own needs in a way that best suits our community, rather than having this ascribed to us.
The work is organized under 4 specific Turnaround Practices.
This is a chance for us to leverage existing strengths of individual LHS faculty and staff to commit to building excellence for everyone, every day, everywhere.
FOR THE FAQ GUIDE THAT CORRESPONDS TO THE QUESTIONS SUBMITTED AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR, PLEASE SEE THIS DOCUMENT
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6. New Resources in the department.
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6. From Richard Cairn (CES) [email protected]
Re: Online Course on EL support in Social Studies (meets DESE requirement for 15 hours of PD on teaching ELs)
Social Studies Leaders -
Do you and fellow social studies teachers struggle to help English Learners read and apply complex texts and concepts? If so, consider this engaging and useful workshop! (And spread the word!)
Accessing Inquiry for ELs through Primary Sources is similar to, but truly distinct from our popular course on teaching Students with Disabilities. Both utilize Universal Design for Learning. Yet each applies different strategies, models different tools, and explores different content. Registration and info for both face-to-face and online sessions.
This course meets the requirement for 15 hours of PD on teaching ELs. (Teachers who met this requirement with the mandated SEI course the last time they renewed their licenses are now planning for their next renewal. Unlike SEI, our course is specifically designed for Social Studies teachers.)
We also still have seats in the online session of the Accessing Inquiry for Students with Disabilities course! Registration and info.
- Rich
****************************************************************************
Rich Cairn, Program Director, Emerging America
Library of Congress: Teaching with Primary Sources at CES
97 Hawley Street, Northampton, MA 01060
http://emergingamerica.org
[email protected]
(413) 588-5936
(413) 586-2878 fax
Emerging America Workshop Registration
Twitter: @EmergingAmerica
1. Your SLG and PPG this year. This year our focus is on the structural elements of the daily lesson:
- the clear formulation, display, and reiteration throughout the class period of the objective;
- the use of the launch-explore-summary (L-E-S) format each day; and,
- the use of multiple formative assessments during each class period to shape your instructional response to students’ learning needs.
As we (the Chairs) put into our schedule for PD, we will focus on objectives during the 9/18/19 early release. I also will put out data for that day, which will include P/F data and MCAS ELA data. We will discuss where data fits in for your SLG/PPG creation. We are having problems with our data sources, but we hope to have it to you by Tuesday the 17th.
------------------------------------------------------
2. Management Plans. Your classroom management plan should be ready and distributed. If it is not already, please make sure you do this before the end of the week. Departmental grading guides by PLC are on the departmental website here. You should include the appropriate grading guide in your management plan. These are the same for each PLC / course across all of the sections.
In terms of course descriptions, please have students check our website with this address:
------------------------------------------------------
3. Important notes on grading.
- One of the persistent issues in grading is the lack of sufficient grading points within a grading category so that grades come out fairly and representative of the students work. If you have a formative assessment category that is worth 25% of a student’s grade and there is only one quiz in that category, then that quiz becomes worth 25% of the student’s grade. I have adjudicated cases like this several times over the past few years when a parent who is over-the-top angry to ask how their child went from a 90% grade to 75% overnight... and it was exactly this scenario. So, please make sure that you have enough data points in each category so that the category is a meaningful representation of the student’s work, and mastery of skills and content.
- I would like to have a discussion about 0 grades vs. 50 grades for missed or miserable grades for work and assessments. It is important that we distinguish subjective responses to the issue from actual objective data. For the vast majority of students, whether they get a 0 or a 50 on any given assignment doesn't matter much. However, for a very small number of students (maybe 3% of the total, if that), it matters a lot. In order to have a productive discussion, if you want to weigh in, you might want to look at these articles to inform your thinking. Please click here [for an anti-zero piece], here [for a neutral overview from 2013], here [for a thoughtful meditation on late work], and here [for a discussion of percentage grades]. If you have other material, I’m happy to include it. One thing to be aware of, too, is that there are similarities between zero-grade and zero-tolerance policies for behavior management. The literature on that is voluminous in scientific studies. That is for a later discussion.
4. Thematic Units. This year we will work on a shift away from pure chronology to thematic units in both our World and US History classes, as I have already indicated in PLC meetings. I am providing here an exemplar. This is not the only way to construct a thematic unit. This is based in primary document analysis, but its take on what primary documents are is limited. Nonetheless, it gives you a sense of how a thematic unit could be constructed. The sample is taken from Rosalie Metro’s Teaching U.S. History Thematically: Document-Based Lessons for the Secondary Classroom (2017). I have a personal copy up in my office. If you would like to borrow it, let me know. For the sample unit click here.
------------------------------------------------------
5. CONSTITUTION DAY (Sept. 17, 2019) – esp. civics classes. This year we will focus on the the Tinker case (1969; this is its 50th anniversary). Kara made available her materials at the last PLC/CPT so that these could be used in civics classes. For other US History classes, you can use this or other work sometime the week of Sept. 16. If you are interested in Kara’s Tinker materials, please contact her directly.
I will make an announcement to the school on the 17th to mark the day.
------------------------------------------------------
5. What is “Turnaround”?
This summary is being provided to each department for discussion at next week's dept. meeting during early release.
Lowell High School is embarking on a three-year strategic plan of targeted school improvement.
The plan is the result of our school’s need to improve the performance of two subgroups: (1) Students with Disabilities – this includes students with IEPs and 504 plans; and, (2) Asian students. These students are in every classroom. As well, all students will benefit from this plan.
The Turnaround Plan is an opportunity for LHS to respond to our own needs in a way that best suits our community, rather than having this ascribed to us.
The work is organized under 4 specific Turnaround Practices.
- Goal 1: Shared responsibility. We have assembled an instructional leadership team that represents all areas of the school. The group meets regularly to keep the plan on track and to share progress in a way that people understand.
- Goal 2: Excellent classroom instruction. The plan focuses on classroom practices that will ensure that every student receives great instruction that will help them engage with the lesson, see topics presented in different ways and really learn the concepts. This includes our instructional focus on sharing well-crafted lesson objectives explicitly with students, following the Launch-Explore-Summary (L-E-S) format of lesson development, and increasing our use of effective formative assessment practices in every class period.
- Goal 3: Support for all students. LHS teachers will engage in professional development to make sure that their teaching practices include all students in their learning. This includes investigating effective ways to improve student attendance.
- Goal 4: Our school culture and climate. We will work together to use proven and tested practices that will improve our school climate. This includes setting and supporting high expectations for all students through the use of PBIS at all grade levels.
This is a chance for us to leverage existing strengths of individual LHS faculty and staff to commit to building excellence for everyone, every day, everywhere.
FOR THE FAQ GUIDE THAT CORRESPONDS TO THE QUESTIONS SUBMITTED AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR, PLEASE SEE THIS DOCUMENT
------------------------------------------------------
6. New Resources in the department.
- Online, inquiry-based mini-book on Slavery. (click here)
- A large bequest of books on Lincoln, the Civil War, and Slavery, from Charles Dana Palmer '44 and Jane Willard Palmer '46. These have special tags in our departmental library. (click here)
------------------------------------------------------
6. From Richard Cairn (CES) [email protected]
Re: Online Course on EL support in Social Studies (meets DESE requirement for 15 hours of PD on teaching ELs)
Social Studies Leaders -
Do you and fellow social studies teachers struggle to help English Learners read and apply complex texts and concepts? If so, consider this engaging and useful workshop! (And spread the word!)
Accessing Inquiry for ELs through Primary Sources is similar to, but truly distinct from our popular course on teaching Students with Disabilities. Both utilize Universal Design for Learning. Yet each applies different strategies, models different tools, and explores different content. Registration and info for both face-to-face and online sessions.
This course meets the requirement for 15 hours of PD on teaching ELs. (Teachers who met this requirement with the mandated SEI course the last time they renewed their licenses are now planning for their next renewal. Unlike SEI, our course is specifically designed for Social Studies teachers.)
We also still have seats in the online session of the Accessing Inquiry for Students with Disabilities course! Registration and info.
- Rich
****************************************************************************
Rich Cairn, Program Director, Emerging America
Library of Congress: Teaching with Primary Sources at CES
97 Hawley Street, Northampton, MA 01060
http://emergingamerica.org
[email protected]
(413) 588-5936
(413) 586-2878 fax
Emerging America Workshop Registration
Twitter: @EmergingAmerica